Chandigarh 6 September : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Tuesday appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for the first time in the 2015 Behbal Kalan police firing case.The SIT is investigating the firing case arising from the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib, is headed by Inspector General of Police Naunihal Singh.
In the past, Badal, who was the minister for home affairs at the time of the incident and was summoned by the SIT on August 30 , but did not appear, claiming he did not receive the summons.Later, on the same day he was required to appear in Ferozepur district’s Zira court in connection with another case.
The SIT is investigating two incidents of firing, Behbal Kalan and the Kotkapura.For the Kotkapura incident the SIT has issued summonses to Badal for September 14th.
The SIT is headed by the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) L.K.Yadav previously questioned the former Director General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini in the sacrilege case.
Saini was removed from the top police position by the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in 2015 after events of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and subsequent violence in the state in which the police force was accused of overreactions that led to two people dead.
Justice Ranjit Singh (retd) who was the head of the commission established by the former Congress government to investigate the alleged instances of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and the subsequent police firing on protesters, has remanded the former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal who was the SAD patriarch, and later DGP Saini in the dock.
Additionally, he castigated the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, whose chief and self-described godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for the rape of two of his followers, as well as the possibility of a life sentence for journalist’s murder, in connection with the crime of sacrilege.
Justice Singh made these comments in January following the release of his book of 423 pages “The Sacrilege” which is that was based on his investigation during the time he was in charge of the commission that was set up by the government.
“Inference on the basis of evidence and materials is that the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as well as the Director General of Police (DGP) Saini for not taking an active in the role (with the subsequent firing of police on protesters following the incident of sacrilege),” Justice Singh had stated to IANS at the launch of the book here.
The act of sacrilege occurred in Behbal Kalan village of Faridkot district.The subsequent police firing on protesters which killed two was covered into the Congress against the SAD-BJP combined government in the 2017 election for the assembly.
Even in 2022 the issues continued to shake the political sphere of the state as the various governments have been accused of not delivering justice in the cases.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on April 9, 2021 overturned the previous police SIT report which issued an official chit to Badals and ordered the state government to set up the new team.
The court not only dismissed the investigation but also raised questions regarding the method of investigation and ordered a reconstitution of the SIT investigating the case with no IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, who is now an AAP legislator.
In response to the high court’s directive the then Congress government headed by Captain Amarinder Singh constituted another SIT on May 7, to look into the incident.
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